Oklahoma should pause executions to ensure the state does not take an innocent life.
Simply put, the government has failed. The state’s current death penalty practice doesn’t meet the Oklahoma standard.
Oklahomans on all sides agree:
Did you know?
(Source)1 in 12
death row inmates have been exonerated.
Drugs used in Oklahoma’s lethal injection
have never been tested
by doctors or researchers.
$10,000
more per year to hold a death row inmate than holding inmates with the general prison population.
87%
of death row correctional officers report mental health difficulties
27%
of all scheduled executions in the U.S. are Oklahomans
The troubled history of the death penalty in Oklahoma
Our state has a complicated history with capital punishment. In fact, we’re not very good at it. Take a look at Oklahoma’s recent track record with the death penalty:
2014
BOTCHED EXECUTION
In 2014, Oklahoma botched the execution of Clayton Lockett, failing for 51 minutes to set an intravenous execution line and then misplacing the line in Lockett’s groin, injecting the drugs into the surrounding subcutaneous tissue.
2015
BOTCHED EXECUTION
In 2015, Oklahoma executed Charles Warner using potassium acetate in its lethal injection drug cocktail. This is an unauthorized drug, as the state’s execution protocol calls for potassium chloride instead. Media witnesses reported that Warner had said during his execution, “It feels like acid,” and “My body is on fire.”
2015
TEMPORARY STAY
Oklahoma was supposed to execute Richard Glossip in 2015, but Gov. Mary Fallin called it off at the last minute after learning the state was still going to use the wrong, unauthorized drug: potassium acetate.
2021
FEDERAL LAWSUIT
A grand jury investigation and federal lawsuit required that Oklahoma would not resume executions until legal issues surrounding Oklahoma’s execution protocol were resolved, but the state resumed executions in October 2021.
It scheduled seven executions over a five month period between October 2021 and March 2022 in defiance of the federal court.
2021
BOTCHED EXECUTION
In October 2021, Oklahoma state botched the execution of John Grant. Media eyewitnesses reported that Grant suffered repeated full-body convulsions and vomited over a nearly 15-minute period after the midazolam was administered.
Clearly, there is something deeply flawed with the way Oklahoma carries out the death penalty.
For one, the drugs in the state’s lethal injection cocktail are unreliable.
This is because they’ve never been tested by any doctors or researchers. This leads many conservative lawmakers to say they can’t trust the government to execute the death penalty safely or humanely.
The death penalty hurts everyone involved, from families to corrections officers to taxpayers.
The average death row inmate sits on death row for over 14 years, dismissing any notion of closure for victims or their families. In fact, executions often leave families with lingering questions and unsettled.
We know the death penalty causes psychological stress among Oklahoma's corrections officers. Additionally, two members of the Board of Pardons and Parole resigned in August 2023, and former chairman Adam Luck resigned in July, citing disagreement with the way Oklahoma was carrying out the death penalty.
Finally, the death penalty is incredibly costly compared to incarceration
Holding a death row inmate costs
$44,148
on average per year
Holding inmates in general prison population costs
$32,400
on average per year
We need your help.
You don’t have to be staunchly anti-death penalty to believe there are issues with Oklahoma and execution. If you believe Oklahoma is not equipped to carry out the death penalty, as our track record has shown, we need your voice.
